Op-Ed: Fewer Report Cards But Better Communication

Elementary teachers want to fill out fewer report cards. Does this mean parents will be left in the dark about how their children are doing in school? Absolutely not.
Our goal is to improve communication with parents, and eliminating the formal fall report card actually helps make that possible. Here’s why.

In 1998 the government created one report card for all elementary schools in the province. Standardized report cards were supposed to bring some uniformity and rigour to the process.

However, in many cases school boards and principals interpreted the government’s directive to mean that teachers’ comments should also be standardized—that teachers should write the same comments on each report card. So, many teachers spend their time copying and pasting text from the expectations in the provincial curriculum into the student report, perhaps adding such modifiers as “well” or “poor”.

The result? Parents and students get sterile comments that don’t provide them with the information they want or need.

What does it mean to find out that your child can “use correctly the vocabulary and musical terminology associated with the specific expectations for this grade”?

Moreover, the first report goes home in early December. That means student assessments have to be completed by early November, after students have been in class for eight weeks. These evaluations can’t provide the information parents need because teachers haven’t had time to gather significant and meaningful data on their students’ accomplishments.

Ironically, providing these early evaluations is neither easy nor quick. Most elementary teachers have to assess each student in 7 different subject areas. For the average classroom teacher that’s about 175 grades and related comments. For specialists like physical education, itinerant music, or French teachers the number is often much higher. Typically, completing a class set of report cards requires more than 60 hours of evening and weekend time.

We think there is a better way.

Our preferred process takes into account the diagnostic assessments teachers complete in the fall when they gather information on areas of student weakness and strength. This helps them get to know their students, set goals for the coming year, and develop plans for achieving those goals.

In the fall communication with parents can take the form of an interview with the teacher who has a portfolio of the student’s work on hand. Or, teachers could complete a checklist that summarizes the student’s literacy and numeracy skills and classroom behaviour.

Of course there are many other ways teachers can (and do) provide parents with feedback including notes in homework books, open houses, weekly newsletters, and phone calls. This type of feedback provides teachers and parents with opportunities to really discuss the student, and is much more meaningful, especially in the case of a student who is not meeting expectations.

ETFO has been working with the Ministry of Education for almost two years to develop a new reporting process. Whatever system we eventually agree on, one thing is certain: talking to the teacher is the best way for parents to find out how their children are doing. This one-on-one contact is the best reporting system of all.